And the Mountains Echoed

Khaled Hosseini, the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.

The brilliant twists and turns of the plot. Dr. Hosseini is brilliant at captivating your interest and holding you hostage till the end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of And the Mountains Echoed?

The medical descriptions.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Great depth of feeling...you feel as though you are experiencing every scene.

Any additional comments?

Khalad Hosseini and Abraham Verghese are two of my favorite authors...and both are physicians of note. Somehow they capture the heart and soul of their characters and, with their beautiful prose, make you feel honored to meet and experience their characters lives.

Bunker Hill: A City, a Siege, a Revolution

Boston in 1775 is an island city occupied by British troops after a series of incendiary incidents by patriots who range from sober citizens to thuggish vigilantes. After the Boston Tea Party, British and American soldiers and Massachusetts residents have warily maneuvered around each other until April 19, when violence finally erupts at Lexington and Concord.

This is a precise and superbly researched book. If you love detail and want to depend that it is factual and true, you can count on Nathaniel Philbrick each and every time.

BUNKER HILL tells the entire story of the American Revolution from the political side to the religious and sociological side. It reveals the mistakes that both sides made and the brutality of the battles in such realism that you will feel you were a spectator.

I've read two other books by Mr. Philbrick and this one meets the same standards....very high standards...that he always manages to achieve.

The Pyramid and Four Other Kurt Wallander Mysteries

The Pyramid is the long-awaited addition to Henning Mankell's critically celebrated and internationally best-selling Kurt Wallander mystery series: the book of five short mysteries that takes us back to the beginning. Here are the stories that trace, chronologically, Wallander's growth from a rookie cop into a young father and then a middle-aged divorcé, illuminating how Wallander became a first-rate detective and highlighting new facets of a now canonical character.

Where does The Pyramid and Four Other Kurt Wallander Mysteries rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is wonderful! How often do you find a character you admire and want to read everything about, but always wonder how his life and career began. Henning Mankell has given us a gift by telling us of Wallander's early years as a sort of bumbling beginning peace officer until his maturity into a lead detective.

I believe this book was written after he wrote what he claims will be his last book about Wallander. I certainly hope he will change his mind because this is an unforgettable character and I certainly want more...and more.

Mr. Mercedes: A Novel

In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes. Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.

It's been several years since I read a Stephen King book...Mr. Mercedes did not disappoint. The master of horror still has it, though this book was not as "lights on scary" as some others I've read. The characters were well developed and the story-line was right out of the headlines for the most part. The psychological side of the story was fascinating...it's always interesting to discover why people are the way they are and how they can carry out horrendous crimes with little or total lack of conscience. Mr. King is a master of that.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction except a realization that what takes place in the book can happen to any of us...that is quite scary enough.One of my favorite Stephen King quotes, and I can't resist repeating it here: "I have the brain of a teen-age boy(slight pause)..........I keep it in a jar on my desk!"

Any additional comments?

Will Patton is masterful! He voices every character as though he's actually met them! He nailed it and, although this was my first Will Patton narration, I am anxious to hear more in the future.

The Luminaries

It is 1866 and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of 12 local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a whore has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely patterned as the night sky.

I so looked forward to reading/listening to this book...and I was completely disappointed in every aspect, except the narration.

Any additional comments?

Try as I might, I could not get into this book. It was certainly not the fault of the narrator. Mark Meadows did a fine job...it was the book itself. It was tedious from the beginning. The characters were wooden and underdeveloped. I am amazed that this won the Man Booker Prize last year. There were many books much more deserving.

Winter's Tale

One night, Peter Lake - orphan, master-mechanic, and master second-story man - attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side. Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the affair between the middle-aged Irish burglar and Beverly Penn, a young girl who is dying. Because of a love that at first he cannot fully understand, Peter, a simple and uneducated man, will be driven "to stop time and bring back the dead".

We once all believed in fairy tales...while listening to A WINTER'S TALE, I found myself feeling the same familiar dreamlike feeling I had as a child, listening to "once upon a time" tales.This is a purely magical blend of harsh reality and beautiful, breathtaking magic. It grabs you and holds you and you don't want it to ever end. This is what "magical realism" is all about.

Which scene was your favorite?

Mark Helprin is obviously in love with New York City and yet he shows both sides of it, the dark and dismal side of poverty and gang warfare and the ethereal side of cathedrals and people with hearts and dreams as big as the massive city they inhabit.He also takes you miles away, through storms and blizzards to a magical place called Lake of the Coheeries, where many important scenes take place.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not even possible...it's about 39 hours long!

Any additional comments?

As long as this book was, I hated to come to the ending and wish I had the time to go back and listen to it again from the beginning. And I must give credit to the stalwart gentleman who narrated this tome. Oliver Wyman, whom I had never listened to before, did a magnificent job of bringing out the charm of each character. His voice modulation, his accents and dramatic touches only enhanced what is a pure masterpiece of fiction

Faithful Place: A Novel

New York Times best-selling author Tana French has won the prestigious Edgar, Barry, Macavity, and Anthony awards. As her third novel featuring the Dublin Murder Squad opens, 19-year-old Frank Mackey is waiting in vain for Rosie, who he’s supposed to run away to London with. But when she doesn’t show, Frank leaves Dublin without her—thinking never to return.

Where does Faithful Place rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Tana French just keeps getting better! Each book I've read has left me thinking the next might disappoint...no way. What a gift she has and I personally can hardly wait to pre-order her next book due out in September.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was Frank (Frances) Mackey. With his Irish sense of humor...and his cynical, sometimes angry, Irish temper...he is a winner and I wish he could be in each and every book. But FAITHFUL PLACE puts him in the spotlight and yet get to know him intimately and you just fall in love with him.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It certainly made me laugh...hold my breath in spots...not quite made me cry but came close. I often gasped out loud, much to my favily's puzzlement!

Any additional comments?

I cannot write a review without throwing roses at the narrator, Tim Gerard Reynolds. He IS Frank Mackey! This is one of the most outstanding narrations I have yet to read and I am going to check out his other offerings and I do truly wish that he could narrate all of Tana French's books. Outstanding job, Mr. Reynolds!

Mother Daughter Me: A Memoir

The complex, deeply binding relationship between mothers and daughters is brought vividly to life in Katie Hafner's remarkable memoir, an exploration of the year she and her mother, Helen, spent working through, and triumphing over, a lifetime of unresolved emotions. Dreaming of a "year in Provence" with her mother, Katie urges Helen to move to San Francisco to live with her and Zoe, Katie's teenage daughter. Katie and Zoe had become a mother-daughter team, strong enough, Katie thought, to absorb the arrival of a 77-year-old woman set in her ways....

If you could sum up Mother Daughter Me in three words, what would they be?

The impossible dream

What was one of the most memorable moments of Mother Daughter Me?

When the grand daughter packed away her cello after being criticized by her grandmother.

Any additional comments?

Three women who shared the same dream of rebuilding their relationship but the reality of generational differences, old resentments, past neglect and alcohol addiction made the dream impossible. Insightfully written and with equal parts anger and compassion, it's a book that every woman can relate to.

Frankenstein

Narrator Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) presents an uncanny performance of Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel, an epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.

I definitely would; in fact, I have recommended it to my Book Club. Unless someone actually reads the entire text of FRANKENSTEIN, rather than watching one of the many movie versions, they have no real picture of the type of book it is.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dr. Frankenstein...and how many people believe that the name of Frankenstein only is that of the monster?

What does Dan Stevens bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emotion...and very well done.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me sad...and not just the story itself because it is a tragedy...but because it has been so "typecast" as simply a horror movie and it is so much more. And to think...Mary Shelley was but 19 years old when she wrote her masterpiece.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to appreciate what good literature, no matter the subject, can be.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Markheim

Here are 2 classic thrillers by a master of suspense. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde> explores the split nature of man. Dr. Jekyll, a respectable man, transforms into an alter ego named Mr. Hyde who carries out all the wickedness Dr. Jekyll represses. In the body of Mr. Hyde, Jekyll finds freedom from the bonds of social convention but soon finds himself lured deeper into violence, and ultimately murder. The second tale, Markheim, tells of a robber named Markheim who murders a shopkeeper on Christmas day. Award-winning British narrator Ralph Cosham does justice to these 2 bone-chilling tales.

Where does The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Markheim rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Once again, I take Hollywood to task. Just as they did with FRANKENSTEIN, they have turned DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE into a horror story and missed the whole point of Robert Lewis Stevenson's classic of good vs. evil. There is so much more to this story, so much psychology and so much humanity. The only possible way to appreciate this classic is to approach it the way it was intended: to be read.

Which character – as performed by Ralph Cosham – was your favorite?

Ralph Cosham did a superb job portraying both characters and making the transition from one to the other so seemingly effortlessly. I will be anxious to hear more of his work in the future.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

My most compelling reaction to this book was sadness for the plight of Dr. Jekyll and the misuse of this story by the media...mainly Hollywood.

Any additional comments?

I do hope more people will read and appreciate this study in mental instability and one man's plight at being caught between the forces of good and evil.

The Good Earth

This Pulitzer Prize-winning classic tells the poignant tale of a Chinese farmer and his family in old agrarian China. The humble Wang Lung glories in the soil he works, nurturing the land as it nurtures him and his family. Nearby, the nobles of the House of Hwang consider themselves above the land and its workers; but they will soon meet their own downfall. The working people riot, breaking into the homes of the rich and forcing them to flee. When Wang Lung shows mercy to one noble and is rewarded, he begins to rise in the world, even as the House of Hwang falls.

Oh yes, someday I'm certain will for several reasons. The writing is beautiful and shows such an understanding of the people and the time they lived in. The performance by Anthony Heald is exceptional This is an audiobook to lose yourself in.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Good Earth?

The years of draught and near-starvation.

Any additional comments?

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I've waited so long to "read" this book. It is timeless and a true classic

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